Chinese Zodiac Rats of 5 Elements: Characters, Destinies

The Wood Rat is ranked first in the 60-year Chinese zodiac-element cycle. By five element theory, each 12-year zodiac cycle has an element, producing: Wood Rats, Fire Rats, Earth Rats, Gold (Metal) Rats, and Water Rats. It’s believed that people
have different characters and destinies according to their birth year’s zodiac sign andelement.

Years of the Rat and the Five Elements

Wood is the first of the elements and the Rat is the first of the Chinese zodiac signs. A year of the Wood Rat comes every
60 years, as does each element’s zodiac year.

In popular Chinese astrology, zodiac years are believed to begin and end with Chinese New Year or lunar new year, so here zodiac years are lunar years.

Rat Year

Lunar Zodiac Year

Element and Sign

1912

Feb. 19, 1912 – Feb. 5, 1913

Water Rat

1924

Feb. 5, 1924 – Jan. 23, 1925

Wood Rat

1936

Jan. 24, 1936 – Feb. 10, 1937

Fire Rat

1948

Feb. 10, 1948 – Jan. 28, 1949

Earth Rat

1960

Jan. 28, 1960 – Feb. 14, 1961

Gold Rat

1972

Feb. 15, 1972 – Feb. 2, 1973

Water Rat

1984

Feb. 2, 1984 – Feb. 19, 1985

Wood Rat

1996

Feb. 19, 1996 – Feb. 6, 1997

Fire Rat

2008

Feb. 7, 2008 – Jan. 25, 2009

Earth Rat

2020

Jan. 25, 2020 – Feb. 11, 2021

Gold Rat

Wood Rats (1924, 1984)

The Character of Wood Rats: Principled, Charming

Wood Rats have strong principles, and use strategies flexibly to reach their goals. They like to feel safe in life; however, they are often haunted by a sense of anxiety, and that’s why they work so hard each day.

They have a charming personality, and are ready to care for and help others. They are also well-versed in laws and regulations, follow traditional moral standards, and have a strong sense of teamwork, getting along well with others although they sometimes seem selfish.

Wood Rats don’t curry favor with powerful people, and they are highly respected due to their strong sense of independence and self-esteem, leading to both negative and positive results. The negative result is that they are unlikely to get promoted. The positive result is that they have a harmonious family life without worrying about food and clothes.

The Destiny of Wood Rats: Bittersweet

People born in a Rat year corresponding to the Wood element are miserable in childhood but are well fed and well clothed at middle age.

Males live leisurely and independently, but have a bittersweet experience. On one hand, they have a sweet experience due to having a good wife. While, on the other hand, they also have a bitter experience due to estranged relationships with their family members, and they seldom get help from their brothers.

As for females, they are virtuous and talented, both in work and life.

Famous Wood Rats

Robert Mugabe (born February 21, 1924)

George H.W. Bush (born June 12, 1924)

Jimmy Carter (born October 1, 1924)

Avril Lavigne (born September 27, 1984)

Katy Perry (born October 25, 1984)

LeBron James (born December 30, 1984)

Cristiano Ronaldo (born February 5, 1985)

Fire Rats (1936, 1996)

The Character of Fire Rats: Energetic, Brave

People for whom the Rat sign and Fire element overlap are very energetic, and are brave enough to face any difficulty and danger.

Fire Rats are cordial and friendly to their friends but very strict with themselves. They have sharp tongues and, therefore, they can often offend people.

They usually keep quiet, however, they will say everything they know and say it without reserve when they have a chance to speak.

The Destiny of Fire Rats: Faithfulness

Fire Rats are extremely close to their parents and kind to their brothers and sisters, attaching tremendous importance to their family and being willing to work hard all their life for their family.

They are constant in love, and are willing to do anything for their partner without any complaint, even though the love is one-sided.

Here is a piece of advice for Fire Rats: “Don't try so hard to get something that doesn’t belong to you, because the best things come when you least expect them to.”

Famous Fire Rats

Pope Francis (born December 17, 1936)

Burt Reynolds (born February 11, 1936)

Buddy Holly (born September 7, 1936)

Robert Redford (born August 18, 1936)

Shirley Bassey (born January 8, 1937)

Tom Holland (born June 1, 1996)

Earth Rats (1948, 2008)

The Character of Earth Rats: Amiable, Modest

People born in an Earth element and Rat sign year are amiable, honest, flexible, modest, and down-to-earth. They are
very serious in work, and they always get help and support from others due to their good relationships.

Earth Rats have a strong sense of self-esteem , and are easily misunderstood by their new colleagues at first; however, they will become firm friends when the misunderstanding is cleared up.

The Destiny of Earth Rats: Unfaithfulness

Without careful attention, Earth Rats are destined to underachieve and neglect their families.

Advice: As far as their careers are concerned, Earth Rats should learn from their forerunners to gain more achievements.

With regard to their family, they should pay more attention to it instead of participating in too many social activities, so as to enhance their marriage bond.

Famous Earth Rats

Prince Charles (born November 14, 1948)

Ozzy Osbourne (born December 3, 1948)

Samuel L. Jackson (born December 21, 1948)

Noel Edmonds (born December 22, 1948)

Olivia Newton-John (born September 26, 1948)

Andrew Lloyd Webber (born March 22, 1948)

Lulu (born November 3, 1948)

Jeremy Irons (born September 19, 1948)

Andrew Lloyd Webber (born March 22, 1948)

Gold Rats (1960, 2020)

The Character of Gold Rats: Hot-Tempered, Jealous

On one hand, people of the Gold element and Rat sign are hot-tempered and jealous, and don’t do things by halves. On the other hand, they are very close to their parents and kind to their siblings, and are very smart and talented.

Gold have a strong sense of self-awarenessand an unbalanced state of affections. They are very sensitive to the world and, therefore, attach great importance to their subjective experiences.

They also like to be noticed by others. They are good at delivering speeches and persuading others, and their charm covers their inner hot temper and jealousy.

The Destiny of Gold Rats: Trouble

Money troubles and other troubles loom if Gold Rats do not practice self-control.

Gold Rats love money, but are not as good at saving it as other Rats pertaining to the elements of Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth are. They will be more successful if they control their hot temper and possessive instinct.

Famous Gold Rats

Elizabeth The Queen Mother (born August 4, 1900)

Bono (born May 10, 1960)

Hugh Grant (born September 9, 1960)

Colin Firth (born September 10, 1960)

Jean-Claude Van Damme (born October 18, 1960)

Diego Maradona (born October 30, 1960)

Water Rats (1912, 1972)

The Character of Water Rats: Shrewd, Conservative

People born in a year of the Rat with the Water element coinciding are shrewd and well-versed in the rules of strategy.

Males show moderate abilities in childhood, make great achievements at middle age, and enjoy a peaceful life in old age.

Females are loose-tongued and are bound to have a slip of the tongue due to talking too much, so they should refrain from talking to avoid trouble.

The Destiny of Water Rats: Good Luck

Water Rats show great wisdom in balancing power and strategy; however, they are rather conservative in their actions as
they prefer to swim with the tide rather than against it, resulting in good luck in their life.

However, they also lose many friends due to their excessively shrewd nature.